“They’re too close,” said Beers. “A lot of people thought once they figured out the 50-50 split in terms of revenue – which they have – everything else would fall into place. That’s why it so surprising everything else hasn’t fallen into place.”

“The players have given back an awful lot from the last CBA,” said Beers. “They’ve gone from 57-percent back to 50-percent. There really isn’t anything that has gone their way in this negation in terms of what they’re getting. So they’re holding out for as much as they possibly can.”

“They should have a season though,” he said. “I don’t think these issues should be holding it up, and a lot of people are scratching their heads wondering why they are.”

So when can we expect to see hockey?

“I’ll base it off 1994; we played 48 games and started January 20th. I’d like to see them start before that, and I think they can,” said Beers. “It only took 9-10 days for the season to start back in 1994. They won’t play any exhibition games, but there are guys keeping in shape over in Europe right now. It’s not the product you want right off the bat, but it will get there.”